It reproduces by laying eggs within the abdomen of a spider by oviposition, slowly developing as an ectoparasitic koinobiont that will eventually kill its host.

Z. percontatoria wasps are distributed worldwide within several different countries, mostly within terrestrial locations that are rich with tree species preferring woodlands.

The flagellum, which are the antenna on the wasp's head excluding some of the base section, has around 18-20 segments in the female.

The ovipositor has a strong, slender base that thickens to a tapered point medially used for quick insertion.

There are small differences between the parasitic wasps as they are distributed around the world, but this description mainly refers to the Z. percontatoria native to Japan.

[7] The lifecycle begins when a female wasp is able to successfully oviposit an egg within the abdomen of a spider within the family Theridiidae.

[8] The spider may continue to forage and take part in activities that ultimately increase the fitness of the larva.

[9] By increasing the levels of hormones that promote certain actions, the larva alters the normal behavior of the spider to its advantage.

The larva also has a mutualistic relationship with polydnaviruses that suppresses the immune system preventing it from making any counter-action.

[11] This action also supports the hypothesis that the change in behavior is most likely the result of an accumulation of hormones stimulated or released by the larva.

This is the part of the lifecycle that explains why Z. percontatoria prefers the web-building spiders of the family Theridiidae.

Scientists hypothesize that the larva is somehow able to increase levels of the hormone that encourages behaviors that the spider would conduct before molting or ecdysis.

[10] The web is stronger, defense-based, and depending on the spider will create a cocoon that will house the larva.

This will aid the fitness of the larva when it enters the pupal stage by creating a camouflage, and protecting it from predators and the outside conditions of the environment.

[15] The pupa will emerge as an adult wasp, usually female as they are able to reproduce starting the cycle again.

The active months of Z. percontatoria are between March and November varying depending on the climate of the geographical location.

An additional factor adding to the level of difficulty in ovipositing is that the spider is usually the same size if not larger than the wasp.

Z. percontatoria prefers female spiders because they forage more than males leading to increased nutrients that the host can provide.

Mortality rates are highest in the egg and larval stages of the parasitoid wasp as well so they may die before they get the chance to finish their lifecycle.

With its parasitoid lifecycle taking a great deal of time, there is much that could go wrong resulting in mortality.

[19] The parasitoid wasps prefer terrestrial woodland locations with a high population of trees.

Parasitoid wasps, although located in many places in the world, are rarely the dominating population in terms of influence or numbers.

[20][5] Evolution is a process where traits that increase the fitness of an organism are favored and therefore natural selection keeps them in the lineage creating speciation.